JD Vance refuses to commit to VP debate – after Tim Walz tells him ‘see you on October 1’

JD Vance has refused to commit to a vice presidential debate against Tim Walz on CBS News – while his Democratic rival has defiantly told him “see you on October 1”.

On Wednesday, CBS News invited Walz and Vance to participate in a debate in New York City, offering them four dates: September 17, 24, October 1 and 8.

Walz was quick off the mark to confirm he is up for the debate and picking a date, posting on X: “See you on October 1, JD.”

However, Vance has so far shirked making a firm commitment – in a move that echoes his running mate Donald Trump’s recent back-and-forth with Kamala Harris over their first presidential debate.

When Vance was asked on Wednesday night if there was any doubt he would be there on October 1, he told Fox News host Laura Ingraham he skirted around the subject.

The Republican candidate said that he “strongly suspected” he would attend but claimed he first wants assurances from CBS News on the debate format before committing to what he described as “a fake news media garbage debate.”

“We want to actually look at the debates, look at the moderators, talk about the rules a little bit. CBS reached out to us literally three hours ago, I was landing from a rally at a press conference in Michigan,” he said.

“I strongly suspect we’re going to be there on October 1 but we’re not going to do one of these fake debates where they don’t actually have an audience there, where they don’t actually set the parameters in a right way where you can have a good exchange of ideas.”

He added: “In other words we’re not going to walk into a fake news media garbage debate. We’re going to do a real debate and if CBS agrees to it, then certainly we’ll do it.”

The Independent has contacted Vance’s campaign for further